Compromise hurts real estate hunt
By Amit Paul, Metro Toronto
One of the most common questions my friends and clients ask me is “where would you live?” or “what would you do, if you were in my/our shoes?” Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what has brought on the idea that there are secrets I’m not revealing, or hidden ins and outs that I’m ignoring.
There are no magic secrets, spells or tricks to this business. There is no crystal ball that tells me the future of our market. What I do have is the knowledge that comes from years in this business.
The first thing I would do is sort out my financial situation. That means determining exactly how much I’m comfortable spending on a monthly basis on my living expenses. From that number, I would work my way backwards, with the appropriate professionals, and determine the purchase price that is my maximum.
Once I have my magic number, I would determine exactly what it is I’m looking for. Many buyers struggle with finding the right balance between price, location, amenities, class of building/home, and so on. Here’s the simplest rule I can offer when it comes to this matter: Don’t compromise!
If you’re looking for a new home, there is more than enough real estate in the market today. Figure out what you want and I can almost guarantee you can have it. Of course, searching for a 3,000-square-foot home in the city when your budget is $250,000 is not within the realm of possibility, but to sacrifice on things like number of bedrooms, pride of ownership and location is unnecessary.
You can change your kitchen, you can change the colour of your walls, the floors you walk on, even the layout of your home, but you can’t change your location.
In reality, the answer to what I would do if I were looking for my first home or a new home, may surprise you. I would opt for a house somewhere in the suburbs. This is because I do too much driving all over the GTA and if I had to do this from downtown each day, I would pull my hair out. It’s also because I know the appreciation on houses is higher than condos, and because I just don’t like the idea of paying maintenance fees. Please understand that much of this decision is based on who I am, and not what I know. If I were working a 9-5 at Bay and King, I’d likely opt for the lake view high-rise.
Remember: When looking for a new home, forget what everyone else is doing.
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